REBUILT PIECE BY PIECE

Kentucky International Exposition Center, Louisville, is getting a $207-million makeover.
“It’s going to aesthetically be a brand new building,” said Jason Rittenberry, president and CEO, Kentucky Sate Fair Board, which manages the current and future convention center. “It’s going to be a full remodel, and although it’s being built on the bones of the old building, it will be like having a completely new venue.”
Plans call for an increase in class-A space to 245,000-sq.-ft., which is significantly more space than the 165,000 sq. ft. the old building offered and will turn the aging venue into one of the biggest in the region.
The makeover will provide Kentucky International Exposition Center with new ballrooms, new meeting rooms, LED signage and all new technology.
Although still in the design stage, Rittenberry is confident that, “IT and technology will be state-of-the-art. We’re going to have a full grid and connectivity through WiFi that will rival anything our competitors offer.”
Demolition of the current Kentucky International Exposition Center started in August. “We’re on track, and on time, and right in the timeline of where the contractors expected us to be at this stage,” he said. “Currently we have most of the exterior walls down. We’re working on the interior now and the new convention center is scheduled to open in June 2018.”
The renovation of the convention center is a green project. This means 80 percent of the building materials being used to reconstruct the convention center are removed and recycled. “This slows the process down,” explained Rittenberry. “The steel is being taken out piece by piece. The concrete and glass are taken out and separated.”
Rittenberry believes that once they are through the demolition stage and the laborious recycling of the materials phase and get to the rebuilding and construction phase, “the project will sail along fairly quickly.”
Rittenberry is looking for sponsors for several areas of the building including the technology center, a technology theater, and the two parking structures. Kentucky International Exposition Center is currently talking to local businesses about branding opportunities in the grand lobby.
Funding of the renovation is coming from public money, primarily from a new bed-tax on hotel rooms. “There are several major hotels opening in the area including a new Omni Hotel,” said Rittenberry. “The increase of 3,000 hotel rooms downtown and the increase of the space in the convention center will really elevate Louisville and allow us to compete for pieces of business we would not have been able to compete for had we not developed our downtown.”
“We believe the modernization will put us on par with the newer convention centers being opened today,” added Rittenberry. — Brad Weissberg